What was so Great About Epcot's Horizons?

[nibblesandbits]

Yes...it should.
Education as entertainment nearly killed the park. The (majority of) the public didn't want it.

agreed...even my mom thought that the old EPCOT Center was boring. We were actually just talking about this the other day.

If the average guest isn't enjoying themselves, then what you are doing is not working and you need to figure out something else. That is what Disney did. They are still trying to "teach" you things by showing you things you will probably never see in person, (I know I will never get to NASA to feel what it feels like to blast off, and I'll never go to a automotive prooving ground, etc) however they are doing it in such a way that is way more entertaining to the masses. In my opinion, "new" Epcot is second on my list of favorite parks. "Old" EPCOT would probably be down to third or fourth. See, to me, now Epcot is still somewhat educational, but it's very entertaining as well...and if I were to guess, that's what the average guest is liking about Epcot right now too.

 

[Now Is The Time]

And where are the numbers to back up that statement? Epcot has ALWAYS drawn more attendance than MGM and AK, even with some of the classic attractions still open.

I think losing Horizons, Epcot truly lost it's soul. Horizons to me was what Future World represented, more than SSE.

It was not a "typical" dark ride, unlike most of World of Motion or Journey into Imagination, because its content was so forward thinking. Beyond any other attraction at Epcot (or anywhere else for that matter) it showed that if we work hard enough, we CAN go to these places and do these things.

The idea was clear as soon as you entered the attraction, with the quote "if we can dream it, we can do it". Somehow I'm sure Walt Disney believed that his whole life.

Besides the AA figures and the outdated films, nothing in Horizons was outdated, unless you believe that what it portrayed can never happen. That is a sad state of this world when we don't want to dream that big or think we can achieve those things.

I started going to EPCOT Center when I was 4 years old, my father worked there at opening. Horizons gave me complete complete awe about what was achievable and it never became old or boring to me, even after several dozen rides over the years.

I also think that Disney has always been a place to dream and to fantasize, sure it was an idealistic view of the future, but isn't that what we want to see at Disney?

Mission:Space has nothing near the amount of effort or creativity put into it.

Well said and I agree. One thing that is tough to get used to on these forums is when someone is trampled on when they say that they miss a particular attraction or that a current replacement attraction isn't as good as its predecessor. Comments like "you're just stuck in the past" surface and more annoyingly comments like "the majority of people thought the old Epcot was boring" (which is totally false and ridiculous to say) are also made. And I'm sorry, but I don't give much merit to a comment such as "Yeah, I rode that once or twice in the day.. it didn't do much for me." Don't waste our time with that - you don't get it.

Horizons embodied the wonder.. the amazement.. of what Epcot was. If you were too young to have enjoyed it... if you only rode it once and only vaguely remember it... please save your comments. In all honesty, I feel sorry for you - you missed a true gem of an attraction. Don't get me wrong, sitting in a cockpit seat and having the skin almost slide off your face while you blast off into space is fun, but Horizons was a place where you could sit back and give your eyes (and your heart) a different kind of rollercoaster - an emotional one.

 

[Expo_Seeker40]

There were still ways in which old and new Epcot could have blended better.

Take the seas pavilion.....this is just my idea....some will like it some won't but here goes...

I love the idea of the building being blue....they never did the back.....but I still like the building blue.....I would have kept the mural....the ocean waves and sun....it was a piece of artwork....it deserved to stay.

I would have instead put the character cut outs, etc on a seperate wall at the exit to the pavilion.

I would have a new queue full of small tanks of fish, sea life, etc with little info cards explaining what was in them, and even interactive things to see i.e. what they do in the soarin' queue.

I would have kept the waiting room, but with a new film that had animated and color footage of the undersea world of finding nemo.....I would then have both movie theaters restored and working...the film would be the characters from finding nemo...the seas themselves...and come with us to seabase alpha.

Film ends..guests enter hydrolators...hydrolators take them to the clamobiles or could still be seacabs....instead of a finding nemo ride thats basically the same as the movie...it would be the characters on projectors telling us different things about sea life etc.

We get off the seacabs and enter seabase alpha...where you have the gift shop...turtle talk...the aquarium...among other exhibits.

There you have it.....entertain...inform...inspire....preserving a bit of old epcot while still moving forward and offering new things to see, while keeping the message intact.

....................................

As far as world showcase goes, you can't beat the dining, entertainment, etc. It does need more attractions. The china and canada films were both updated well. The france one needs to be updated.The american adventure is always a pleasure to see. As is norway. Too bad Japan doesn't have "meet the world" or the bullet train simulator, or mount fiji.

I don't understand the whole gran fiesta tour. Yes, el rio needed updating....but I find Disney characters taking us on tours of the attractions a little too much.

I have always enjoyed seeing the Disney characters in world showcase. I find that appropriate for a disney park. I miss some things like seeing the characters on the double decker busses, let alone letting guests use them!

..................

As for Future World....

SSE will be good and in the EPCOT message....so is project tomorrow. Innoventions still entertains/informs/inspires.

Living with the land, circle of life, and soarin' all do this!

Imagination needs a stellar rehab!

Test Track doesn't seem very future world at all. Mission:Space does.

WoL never really did.

UoE is starting to become outdated but could still become a future world appropriate attraction.....just not the snooze fest like the original film.

As far as Horizons....it was an amazing attraction. The Imagineers poured so much into it. This was no cheap nemo overlay, or gran fiesta.....this was fine craftsmanship. The music, the sounds, the smells, the sets, everything was so carefully done.

It stood out among other attractions in future world.....but with no sponsor...and outdated sets, its time was coming to an end. I wish Horizons would have surived. I rather they demolished the aging WoL and build M:S over there instead.....but luckily Horizons lives on in audio,film, and memories.

 

[bigtotoro]

Horizons was a very magical attraction for me. Very immersive and gave the feeling that you could do anything. As a kid, it really stuck with me.

Now that I'm grown, I understand that change is inevitable an the attractions I knew and loved back then (Horizons, WoM, JII, Mr. Toad) needed to make way for more innovative attractions. But I do wish that it was still there so I could try to capture some of that feeling again. Who doesn't want to feel like they are 8 years old and the world is at their feet?

I'm more nostalgic about these attractions, rather than thinking Disney screwed up by removing them.

Face it, they are gone and you are old now

 

[Expo_Seeker40]

I feel blessed and cursed at the same time because I truly feel I got the "EPCOT Message".

As an artist.....no not some trippy hippie but rather a graphic designer and advertisor.....EPCOT played my very senses and got me to think outside the box, and really try and find ways in which the world could be better.

I first went to Epcot in 1996 as a tween....by then were some remnants of old EPCOT and new Epcot.

I vaguely remember Horizons, but still these attractions like SSE, Horizons, and UoE amazed me....absoultely amazed me in the way they were presented and what they showed.

We haven't had a world's fair in the untied states since 1984.....I wonder if we will ever have one again because I think America needs one.

Epcot is as close as we will ever get to one..for now. Yes its a Disney park...but when you have only one place in America....world showcase...that offers international shopping and entertainment....somehow I think it could be better and appropriate to leave donald duck out...and offer a new refreshing look at the mysteries of Aztec mexico....and the paradise of tropical Mexico.

Epcot had to change because....I see it sadly...the majority...yes the majority did not like the idea of being edjucated.....yet sea world and kennedy space center....still heavily involve edjucation and they do well.

I just feel that the whole EPCOT message isn't really dead or needs to change..its more or less version 2.0

One of my professors made a great comment I think

She said "Whether I'm driving to work, or taking a drive out for the weekend, I am shocked at the number of kids who are playing video games, watching DVD's, or just plain picking on eachother.....what has happened to the families who used to pull off the road and go down the beaten path and show their kids more things than just a television or what was in their backyard...what happened to the children who could have the window down...catch the breeze and daydream in the back of their car...or ask their parents things they saw on the road they traveled....I think these kids are in a minority....they get laughed at because they dare to think for themselves and be inspired...they are made fun of because they like to learn or want to see something off the beaten path."

To me this is the same thing for the teenagers and adults who scream at the top of their lungs, and put their hands in the air, and then take numerous flash photos of themselves and post them online as "Bored in the giant epcot ball ride".

The people that laugh in the face of inspiration and entertainment and rather go use their ADHD like attentionspan and go puke their brains out while riding a rollercoaster. These are the same people who go to Epcot only to get drunk....post a ton of photos...and then go home.

 

[daliseurat]

I always like Horizons. But then, I always like the idea of "THE FUTURE". And Horizons was so positive. I do have to say that as much as I liked it, I didn't go on it more than once a visit, and would sometimes not even ride it.

Horizons was a nice attraction... notice the past tense. But it was nothing special because, as mentioned already, it was yet another darkride just like every other ride at EPCOT. Hence, the reason Epcot today is so much better. The attractions are different and appealing. While I enjoyed EPCOT, I always felt like WDI got stuck in a box of dark rides. Sure, they used omnimovers, tracks and water... but everything was a darkride. That's why the park had to change and shake off the "boring education" reputation.

Finally, that box was broken, Epcot emerged, and a much better experience can now be found.

And I agree here somewhat. My first visit to EPCOT left we with Audio-Animatronic burnout. It seemed like everything was a slowmoving omnimover with AAs. Not that I didn't enjoy them, but a did need a break from the same sort of thing. They could have revamped any of the original attractions to make them awesome, but they also could have made things worse. JIYA? Bleah. TEST TRACK is okay, not great. I like the queue better than the ride. MISSION SPACE? Okay once.

What I really want to see are attractions that make me want to go on them again and again. Very little at Epcot does that for me. I just like the ambience and World Showcase the best. I must be in a minority, because I liked Wonders of Life. There really does have to be a happy medium where amazing and magical experiences can also be educational.

 

[bigtotoro]

Well said and I agree. One thing that is tough to get used to on these forums is when someone is trampled on when they say that they miss a particular attraction or that a current replacement attraction isn't as good as its predecessor. Comments like "you're just stuck in the past" surface and more annoyingly comments like "the majority of people thought the old Epcot was boring" (which is totally false and ridiculous to say) are also made. And I'm sorry, but I don't give much merit to a comment such as "Yeah, I rode that once or twice in the day.. it didn't do much for me." Don't waste our time with that - you don't get it.

On the flipside, if your comment is "you don't get it", save it. It is just as dismissive.

 

[Now Is The Time]

Horizons was a nice attraction... notice the past tense. But it was nothing special because, as mentioned already, it was yet another darkride just like every other ride at EPCOT. Hence, the reason Epcot today is so much better. The attractions are different and appealing. While I enjoyed EPCOT, I always felt like WDI got stuck in a box of dark rides. Sure, they used omnimovers, tracks and water... but everything was a darkride. That's why the park had to change and shake off the "boring education" reputation.

Finally, that box was broken, Epcot emerged, and a much better experience can now be found.

It's posts like these that leave me totally stunned. I just can't relate to someone who thinks Horizons was "just another darkride." :hammer:I stand in awe.

 

[phenom1307]

MISSION SPACE? Okay once.

i completely agree....

 

[phenom1307]

also does anyone happen to have old pictures of Horizons or some old video that they managed to get online? i have either never been on it or were too little to remember...and would like to see what the attraction was like on the inside

 

[nikko]

There is a website called DisneyClips or something where you can view retired attractions (video and photos). I'd add it as a link but not sure how!

 

[phenom1307]

There is a website called DisneyClips or something where you can view retired attractions (video and photos). I'd add it as a link but not sure how!

ok thanks! ill try to search for it

 

[Testtrack321]

i completely agree....

for everyone who thinks that there are 2 who think "Horizon's? Okay Once" but are riding M:S several times.

And for what it's worth my mom hates both rides. :lol:

 

[GameCocks11]

It's posts like these that leave me totally stunned. I just can't relate to someone who thinks Horizons was "just another darkride." :hammer:I stand in awe.

I have to agree with you. Horizons was an amazing ride. There was no other ride like it.

 

[jmvd20]

Horizons was a very popular ride at Epcot until GE ended their sponsorship and WDW let the ride fall into a state of disrepair. Horizons was a ride about the future, after 10 years it needed to be updated but that never happened. People can say what they want but WDW letting any ride fall into disrepair due to lack of a sponsor is an incredibly bad show.

Also there is no evidence that supports the claims that Horizons was structurally unsafe, or sinking into the ground. Actually all of the evidence in the photos prior to demolition contradicts those claims.

Whether you liked the ride or not is a matter of opinion, I for one loved it so yes my statements will be biased. Nonetheless I still feel WDW screwed up in the way they handled the situation...

 

[phenom1307]

for everyone who thinks that there are 2 who think "Horizon's? Okay Once" but are riding M:S several times.

And for what it's worth my mom hates both rides. :lol:

why are you quoting me?